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At least 613 records · Page 34
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Assessing spin-density wave formation in La 3 Ni 2 O 7 from electronic structure calculations

Here, we employ correlated density-functional theory methods (DFT + Hubbard U) to investigate the spin-density wave state of the bilayer Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) nickelate La 3 Ni 2 O 7 which becomes superconducting under pressure. We predict that the ground state of this bilayer RP material has traits of both the double spin-stripe and the single spin-charge stripe phases proposed in the literature as it corresponds to in-plane up/up′/down/down′ diagonal stripes with up/down being high spin (formally Ni 2+ : d 8 ), and up′ /down′ being low spin (formally Ni 3+ : d 7 ). The main feature of this solution (that is insulating even at U = 0) is the dominant role of the d x 2 −y 2 bands around the Fermi level, which would become doped with the introduction of electrons via oxygen vacancies. In spite of the similarity with cuprates in terms of the dominant role of d x 2 −y 2 bands, some differences are apparent in the magnetic ground state of La 3 Ni 2 O 7 : the antiferromagnetic out-of-plane coupling within the bilayer (linked to the d z 2 orbitals forming a spin-singlet-like configuration) is found to be the dominant one while in-plane interactions are reduced due to the stripe order of the ground state. With pressure, this striped magnetic ground state remains similar in nature but the increase in bandwidth quickly transitions La 3 Ni 2 O 7 into a metallic state with all the activity close to the Fermi level involving, to a large extent, d x 2 −y 2 orbitals. This is reminiscent of the cuprates and may provide key insights into how superconductivity arises in this material under pressure.

LaBollita, Harrison↗
DOE OSTI2024

Light-Induced Melting of Competing Stripe Orders without Introducing Superconductivity in La 2 − x Ba x CuO 4

The ultrafast manipulation of quantum material has led to many novel and significant discoveries. Among them, the light-induced transient superconductivity in cuprates achieved by melting competing stripe orders represents a highly appealing accomplishment. However, recent investigations have shown that the notion of photoinduced superconductivity remains a topic of controversy, and its elucidation solely through c -axis time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy remains an arduous task. Here, we measure the in-plane and out-of-plane transient terahertz responses simultaneously in the stripe-ordered nonsuperconducting La 2 − x Ba x CuO 4 after near-infrared excitations. We find that although a pump-induced reflectivity edge appears in the c -axis reflectance spectrum, the reflectivity along the CuO 2 planes decreases simultaneously, indicating an enhancement in the scattering rate of quasiparticles. This in-plane transient response is clearly distinct from the features associated with superconducting condensation. Therefore, we conclude the out-of-plane transient responses cannot be explained by an equivalent of Josephson tunneling. Notably, those pump-induced terahertz responses remain consistent even when we vary the near-infrared optical pump wavelengths and hole concentrations. Our results provide critical evidence that transient three-dimensional superconductivity cannot be induced by melting the competing stripe orders with pump pulses whose photon energy is much higher than the superconducting gap of cuprates. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

3D strain-induced superconductivity in La 2 CuO 4+δ using a simple vertically aligned nanocomposite approach

A long-term goal for superconductors is to increase the superconducting transition temperature, T C . In cuprates, T C depends strongly on the out-of-plane Cu-apical oxygen distance and the in-plane Cu-O distance, but there has been little attention paid to tuning them independently. Here, in simply grown, self-assembled, vertically aligned nanocomposite thin films of La 2 CuO 4+δ + LaCuO 3 , by strongly increasing out-of-plane distances without reducing in-plane distances (three-dimensional strain engineering), we achieve superconductivity up to 50 K in the vertical interface regions, spaced ~50 nm apart. No additional process to supply excess oxygen, e.g., by ozone or high-pressure oxygen annealing, was required, as is normally the case for plain La 2 CuO 4+δ films. Finally, our proof-of-concept work represents an entirely new approach to increasing >T C n cuprates or other superconductors.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Tuning from failed superconductor to failed insulator with magnetic field

Do charge modulations compete with electron pairing in high-temperature copper oxide superconductors? We investigated this question by suppressing superconductivity in a stripe-ordered cuprate compound at low temperature with high magnetic fields. With increasing field, loss of three-dimensional superconducting order is followed by reentrant two-dimensional superconductivity and then an ultraquantum metal phase. Circumstantial evidence suggests that the latter state is bosonic and associated with the charge stripes. These results provide experimental support to the theoretical perspective that local segregation of doped holes and antiferromagnetic spin correlations underlies the electron-pairing mechanism in cuprates.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Unconventional scaling of the superfluid density with the critical temperature in transition metal dichalcogenides

We report on muon spin rotation experiments probing the magnetic penetration depth λ( T ) in the layered superconductors in 2H-NbSe 2 and 4H-NbSe 2 . The current results, along with our earlier findings on 1T'-MoTe 2 (Guguchia et al. ), demonstrate that the superfluid density scales linearly with T c in the three transition metal dichalcogenide superconductors. Upon increasing pressure, we observe a substantial increase of the superfluid density in 2H-NbSe 2 , which we find to correlate with T c . The correlation deviates from the abovementioned linear trend. A similar deviation from the Uemura line was also observed in previous pressure studies of optimally doped cuprates. This correlation between the superfluid density and T c is considered a hallmark feature of unconventional superconductivity. Here, we show that this correlation is an intrinsic property of the superconductivity in transition metal dichalcogenides, whereas the ratio T c / T F is approximately a factor of 20 lower than the ratio observed in hole-doped cuprates. We, furthermore, find that the values of the superconducting gaps are insensitive to the suppression of the charge density wave state.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Quasiparticle mass enhancement approaching optimal doping in a high-T c superconductor

In the quest for superconductors with higher transition temperatures (T c ), one emerging motif is that electronic interactions favorable for superconductivity can be enhanced by fluctuations of a broken-symmetry phase. In recent experiments it is suggested that the existence of the requisite broken-symmetry phase in the high-T c cuprates, but the impact of such a phase on the ground-state electronic interactions has remained unclear. Here, we used magnetic fields exceeding 90 tesla to access the underlying metallic state of the cuprate YBa 2 Cu 3 O 6+δ over a wide range of doping, and observed magnetic quantum oscillations that reveal a strong enhancement of the quasiparticle effective mass toward optimal doping. Finally, this mass enhancement results from increasing electronic interactions approaching optimal doping, and suggests a quantum critical point at a hole doping of p crit ≈ 0.18.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Three-Dimensional Charge Density Wave Order in YBa2Cu3O6.67 at High Magnetic Fields

Charge density wave (CDW) correlations have been shown to universally exist in cuprate superconductors. However, their nature at high fields inferred from nuclear magnetic resonance is distinct from that measured by x-ray scattering at zero and low fields. Here we combine a pulsed magnet with an x-ray free electron laser to characterize the CDW in YBa2Cu3O6.67 via x-ray scattering in fields up to 28 Tesla. While the zero-field CDW order, which develops below T ~ 150 K, is essentially two-dimensional, at lower temperature and beyond 15 Tesla, another three-dimensionally ordered CDW emerges. The field-induced CDW onsets around the zero-field superconducting transition temperature, yet the incommensurate inplane ordering vector is field-independent. This implies that the two forms of CDW and hightemperature superconductivity are intimately linked.

Gerber, S.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Experimental Progress in Superconducting Nickelates

The superconducting nickelates were first proposed as potential analogs to the cuprate unconventional superconductors in 1999, but it took twenty years before superconductivity was successfully stabilized in epitaxial thin films. Since then, a flurry of both experimental and theoretical efforts have sought to understand the similarities and differences between the two systems and how they manifest in the macroscopic superconducting and normal state properties. Although the nickelates and cuprates indeed share many commonalities within their respective phase diagrams, several notable differences have also emerged, especially regarding their parent compounds, electronic hybridization, and fermiology. Here, we provide a survey of the rapidly developing landscape of layered nickelate superconductors, including recent experimental progress to probe not just the superconducting but also normal state and other ordered phases stabilized in these compounds.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2011

Atom chip microscopy: A novel probe for strongly correlated materials

Improved measurements of strongly correlated systems will enable the predicative design of the next generation of supermaterials. In this program, we are harnessing recent advances in the quantum manipulation of ultracold atomic gases to expand our ability to probe these technologically important materials in heretofore unexplored regions of temperature, resolution, and sensitivity parameter space. We are working to demonstrate the use of atom chips to enable single-shot, large area detection of magnetic flux at the 10 -7 flux quantum (Φ 0 ) level and below. By harnessing the extreme sensitivity of atomic clocks and Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) to external perturbations, the cryogenic atom chip technology developed here will provide a magnetic flux detection capability that surpasses other techniques---such as scanning SQUIDs---by a factor of 10 1 --10 3 . We are testing the utility of this technique by using rubidium BECs to image the magnetic fields emanating from charge transport and magnetic domain percolation in strongly correlated materials as they undergo temperature-tuned metal--to--insulator phase transitions. Cryogenic atom chip microscopy introduces three very important features to the toolbox of high-resolution, strongly correlated material microscopy: simultaneous detection of magnetic and electric fields (down to the sub-single electron charge level); no invasive large magnetic fields or gradients; simultaneous micro- and macroscopic spatial resolution; freedom from 1/f flicker noise at low frequencies; and, perhaps most importantly, the complete decoupling of probe and sample temperatures. The first of these features will play an important role in studying the interplay between magnetic and electric domain structure. The last two are crucial for low frequency magnetic noise detection in, e.g., the cuprate pseudogap region and for precision measurements of transport in the high temperature, technologically relevant regime inaccessible to other techniques based on superconducting scanning probes. In periods 1--3 of this grant, which we now close at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and restart at Stanford University where our new lab is being built, we have demonstrated the ability to rapidly create Rb BECs and trap them within microns of a surface in a cryostat. Period 4 of this grant, to be performed at Stanford, will demonstrate the feasibility of using atom chips with a BEC to image transport features on a cryogenically cooled surface. Successful demonstration, in future funding cycles, will lead directly to the use of system for studies of transport in exotic and technologically relevant materials such as cuprate superconductors and topological insulators.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Transient superconductivity at nano- and meso-scales

High-T c superconductivity is surpassed by few, if any, other unsolved problems in contemporary physics in terms of its richness, complexity, impact on other fields, and potential technological importance in energy applications. Recent discoveries reveal that the highest transition temperatures emerge under extraordinary experimental conditions such as the strong perturbation of a single atomic layer material by the underlying substrate, application of ~200 GPa pressure or ~MV/cm static electric fields, or irradiation by intense femtosecond optical fields. Research in superconductivity under extreme experimental conditions is challenging and requires the development of novel experimental methods and new theoretical tools suitable to tackle the problem. Our team has approached the challenges of transient superconductivity under intense optical fields by rethinking the types of experimental observables that are best suited to elucidate the physics of light-induced effects. This exercise has identified the need for: i) ultra-fast spatio-temporal probes enabling access to plasmonic properties and also nano-scale inhomogeneities that are ubiquitous in unconventional superconductors; ii) meso-scale structures and hybrid meta-surfaces imperative for strong enhancement of optical fields and iii) theoretical approaches suitable to explain and predict the response of superconductors under ultra-fast photo-excitation. Co-PIs have already made major advances with developing capabilities i)-iii). Therefore, our team is poised to make significant progress in transient superconductivity by exploring novel spatio-temporal effects that currently remain unattainable. Co-investigators will search for light-induced superconductivity in the high-T c cuprates to build upon spectacular recent results still lacking independent confirmations. Novel data acquisition methods combined with nano-plasmonic imaging will allow our team to test the hypothesis of photo-induced superconducting pairing. Spatio-temporal experiments will provide insights into the interplay between superconductivity and competing orders in the cuprates. Co-PIs will also investigate strong light-matter interaction and superconductivity in FeSe monolayers. Finally, we will study spatio-temporal electrodynamics of planar Josephson junctions. This latter direction will allow our team to thoroughly characterize one of the most fundamental examples of inhomogeneity in all of unconventional superconductivity. The proposed experiments in combination with theoretical analysis will provide information that is difficult to obtain using alternative methods. Basov and Averitt will carry out pump-probe spectroscopy and nano-imaging experiments. Averitt and Hone will design and fabricate state-of-the-art meta-surfaces. Theoretical and computational studies of ultrafast transient phenomena will be carried out by Millis and Fogler. Modeling of time-resolved nano-optical effects will be done by Fogler. The bulk of the requested budget will be used to support graduate students at Columbia & UCSD that will be co-supervised by co-PIs. The proposed program is transformative, since it will enable an entire suite of experiments previously either impossible or technically implausible. It will deliver critically important insights not only into mechanisms of unconventional superconductivity but also to many other correlated quantum materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Low Valence Nickelates: Launching the Nickel Age of Superconductivity

The discovery of superconductivity in thin films (~10 nm) of infinite-layer hole-doped NdNiO 2 has invigorated the field of high temperature superconductivity research, reviving the debate over contrasting views that nickelates that are isostructural with cuprates are either 1) sisters of the high temperature superconductors, or 2) that differences between nickel and copper at equal band filling should be the focus of attention. Each viewpoint has its merits, and each has its limitations, suggesting that such a simple picture must be superseded by a more holistic comparison of the two classes. Several recent studies have begun this generalization, raising a number of questions without suggesting any consensus. In this paper, we organize the findings of the electronic structures of n-layered NiO 2 materials (n = 1 to ∞) to outline (ir)regularities and to make comparisons with cuprates, with the hope that important directions of future research will emerge.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Correlated Insulating Behavior in Infinite-Layer Nickelates

Unlike their cuprate counterparts, the undoped nickelates are weak insulators without long-range antiferromagnetic order. Identifying the origin of this insulating behavior, found on both sides of the superconducting dome, is potentially a crucial step in the development of a coherent understanding of nickelate superconductivity. In this work, we study the normal-state resistivity of infinite-layer nickelates using high magnetic fields to suppress the superconductivity and examine the impact of disorder and doping on its overall temperature ( T ) dependence. In superconducting samples, the resistivity of Nd- and La-based nickelates continues to exhibit weakly insulating behavior with a magnitude and functional form similar to that found in underdoped electron-doped cuprates. We find a systematic evolution of the insulating behavior as a function of nominal hole doping across different rare-earth families, suggesting a pivotal role for strong electron interactions, and uncover a correlation between the suppression of the resistivity upturn and the robustness of the superconductivity. By contrast, we find very little correlation between the level of disorder and the magnitude and onset temperature of the resistivity upturn. Combining these experimental observations with previous Hall effect measurements on these two nickelate families, we consider various possible origins for this correlated insulator behavior and its evolution across their respective phase diagrams.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Cathodes and electrolytes for rechargeable magnesium batteries and methods of manufacture

The invention relates to Chevrel-phase materials and methods of preparing these materials utilizing a precursor approach. The Chevrel-phase materials are useful in assembling electrodes, e.g., cathodes, for use in electrochemical cells, such as rechargeable batteries. The Chevrel-phase materials have a general formula of Mo 6 Z 8 (Z=sulfur) or Mo 6 Z 1 8-yZ 2 y (Z 1 =sulfur; Z 2 =selenium), and partially cuprated Cu 1 Mo 6 S 8 as well as partially de-cuprated Cu 1-x Mg x Mo 6 S 8 and the precursors have a general formula of M x Mo 6 Z 8 or M x Mo 6 Z 1 8-yZ 2 y , M=Cu. The cathode containing the Chevrel-phase material in accordance with the invention can be combined with a magnesium-containing anode and an electrolyte.

Kumta, Prashant N.↗
DOE OSTI2016

On local pairs vs. BCS: Quo vadis high-T c superconductivity

Since the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates, proposals have been made that pairing may be local , in particular in underdoped samples. Furthermore, we briefly review evidence for local pairs from our experiments on thin films of La 2–x Sr x CuO 4 , synthesized by atomic layer-by-layer molecular beam epitaxy (ALL-MBE).

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

Boundary Current Response in Ba{sub 0.34}K{sub 0.64}Fe{sub 2}As{sub 2} Single Crystal Probed by Non-resonant Microwave Absorption

Non-resonant microwave absorption (NRMA) in superconducting materials has become a new experimental technique to probe and understand superconducting materials. For example, cuprate superconductors are well studied with this technique. At the same time, the technique is also evolving. This NRMA technique has been used to study magnetic shielding effects/boundary current in Ba{sub 0}.{sub 34}K{sub 0}.{sub 64}Fe{sub 2}As{sub 2} (BaK122) single crystals of iron pnictide superconducting sample measured at 9.4 GHz below T{sub c} (4.2–32 K). It has been observed that a small modulation field used in NRMA experiment yields the boundary current response. We have established that the boundary current response depends on both the modulation amplitude and the temperature. At high modulation field amplitudes and temperatures close to T{sub c}, the boundary current response gets suppressed and the flux-modulated response dominates. At low temperatures far away from T{sub c}, only the boundary current response dominates.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

Diagram of the Critical Temperature—Nernst Temperature for the Superconductivity Induced by Modified Electron-Phonon Interaction

We have taken into consideration the Eliashberg equations based on the electron-phonon and the electron-electron-phonon interaction. It has been shown that the Eliashberg equations set generalizes the model based on the canonical transformation, which for the cuprates quantitatively associates with each other the critical temperature (T{sub C}), the Nernst temperature (T{sup ⋆⋆}), and the energy gap at 0 K. Next, we have derived the analytical formulas for the basic thermodynamic parameters. The conducted analysis allowed to designate the T{sub C}- T{sup ⋆⋆} diagram. Finally, we found the limitation from below for the value of T{sup ⋆⋆}, occurring for the critical temperature higher than 150 K.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

Low Temperature Studies of Granularity and Upper Critical Field of Superconducting Nd{sub 1.85}Ce{sub 0.15}CuO{sub 4}+Ag Composite System

Electrical resistivity studies reveal large granular effects in the superconductivity behaviour of the electron-doped cuprate, Nd{sub 1.85}Ce{sub 0.15}CuO{sub 4}, in polycrystalline form, much larger than their hole-doped counterparts. With the aim of investigating inter-granular coupling, as well as its variation with magnetic field and addition of Ag, AC susceptibility and magneto-resistance (MR) studies have been carried out on Nd{sub 1.85}Ce{sub 0.15}CuO{sub 4} + Ag composite system. A comparative study of the superconducting properties of the Nd{sub 1.85}Ce{sub 0.15}CuO{sub 4} + Ag composite system for Ag = 0, 5 and 15 wt%, including upper critical field [ H{sub C2}(0)], has been carried out and is presented.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗